July 7, 2020
The Pen: Sultan's Wisdom (Dream Traveler’s Tales Book I)
Dennis Galloway
Aviva Publishing (2020)
ISBN: 978-1-950241-92-7
New Novel Blends Adventure with Self-Help to Create Magical Read
Dennis Galloway’s new novel, The Pen, is an entertaining mix of fantasy, adventure, humor, romance, and life-changing principles that any reader can apply to improve their lives.
The story begins in 1920 Edinburgh, Scotland, and it has all the magic and mystery associated with the works of other authors who wrote in that time period like Arthur Conan Doyle and H. G. Wells. It tells the story of young Harold Duncan, who works as a clerk at a firm where he feels like he is not appreciated and his superiors do not regard him well enough to give him any opportunity to advance. Because reality is so boring for him, Harold has escaped into imaginary worlds of writing stories.
One day, Harold feels called to visit an antique store to add to his collection of vintage pens, which he enjoys writing with. However, he little expects to find the unusual and beautiful pen that this particular antique store provides. The pen is expensive, but Harold must have it, and after quickly paying for it, he rushes home to try it out on a new story.
Harold begins penning the words of his own imagination, but the pen has a mind of its own. It begins to wrap around his arm and then forces him to write in a manner it chooses. What flows from its tip is a beautiful, curly, unfamiliar script in a language Harold does not know.
Afraid of the pen, yet unable to resist his curiosity, Harold continues to write with it, or rather, allow himself to be the hand the pen uses to write for itself. Harold then takes his manuscript pages to the local library where a kind young librarian, Priscilla, aids him in determining what language the pen is writing in so he can begin to translate it.
Harold soon learns he has been writing the story of Al-Hamid Akbar in his own words. Al-Hamid is a young man living in the Middle East in the ninth century. Harold becomes engrossed in reading and translating Al-Hamid’s wild tale—a rags to riches story full of nefarious villains, exciting adventures, danger, romance, and plentiful opportunities.
More importantly, Harold begins to learn from Al-Hamid’s story. Modeling himself upon the lessons his literary counterpart learns, Harold begins to advance his career as well as find the courage to ask Priscilla out for a date.
To say more about the plot would be to give too much away. However, I really believe readers will love this inspirational novel. Not only do you get two stories for the price of one—both Harold’s and Al-Hamid’s—but it’s almost like you get three books in one since the lessons Harold learns are lessons we can all benefit from. Dennis Galloway has written a modern novelistic form of How to Win Friends and Influence People that successfully combines positive thinking and adventure to get its message across. Here is just one example of one of the “Emeralds of Wisdom” Harold learns in the novel:
In every transaction, be sure all involved benefit.
Ensure that each party feels they have achieved what they wanted, and so were not disappointed or cheated by the outcome.
If these steps are not followed, then the Universe will eventually work against you and undermine all you have achieved. This is a law of the Universe that never fails.
Altogether, The Pen is one of the most entertaining and enlightening books of recent years. It slyly persuades you to think about how Harold’s experiences can be applied to effect positive change in your own life—and best of all, those changes can happen without even needing a magical pen. I highly recommend you invest in the pleasure of reading this book. You may be surprised by the results.
For more information about Dennis Galloway and The Pen, visit www.DennisLGalloway.com.
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD and author of The Children of Arthur historical fantasy series
